iOS Port Hope: Ultima 7

[shigzeo]

iOS port Hope: Ultima 7 – the greatest RPG ever

Just wanted to draw attention to my latest RPG rant, titled as above. For those of you who know, Ultima 7 is perhaps the icon among modern RPG's, at least as far as role playing, NPC interaction, world interaction, exploration, and a few other things are concerned.

It has been released for PSP officially by EA, but otherwise, has laid dormant since its original publish date in 1992. I am quite certain that it would work great on the iDevice, especially the iPad, but it would need overhauled interface and graphics.

Currently, those lucky enough to have bought the CD version sold by EA, can play it on computers and other hacked devices, but it still stands aloof from the iDevice. EA would need to support Exult's development team, or completely re-adapt the engine to work with touch controls.

Since this game is one of if not the most-loved computer RPG of all time (I know, you console people think that Final Fantasy is an RPG, but it just isn't - there isn't even a hint of role playing in the game), an improper adaption would be perilous. EA, pull up your socks and get this out. I'd buy it in a heartbeat. If you can support Exult's efforts and bring updated controls and smooth scaling graphics, keyrings, etc., you'd really buff up your image (especially since Richard Garriot, Ultima's creator had it in for you when creating Ultima 7).

[chi kitory]

Not even the original ff's on the nes is considered a rpg?

[NineSwords]

Not even the original ff's on the nes is considered a rpg?

Well, they're a sub genre called "JRPG" (J as in Japan).

The entire gameplay and mythology is in most cases totally differernt from western classic RPG's. Just compare the big classics like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest to the western wetstern counterparts like Ultima, Wizardry and Bards Tale.

Apart from the cultural differences in the developer teams, they were defined by different systems too. See, all the JRPG classics (I know of) were created for a console with a controler as the main input device. Western classic RPGs were developed for personal computers, wether it was a Apple, Commodore or DOS system. They all had a keyboard (and later mouse/keyboard) as the main input device. This resulted in a completely different kind of game.

[shigzeo]

Not even the original ff's on the nes is considered a rpg?

Final Fantasy was also created from computer games, not as a computer emulator of the classic table top role playing game. That means that the only 'role playing' done is character upgrading. But that isn't actually playing a role. You don't play any different if you are a thief than if you are a mage and the world, completely static, has no interaction with the character.

Japanese RPG's are all about story, but they have literally NO role playing involved. Your character follows paths and fights and upgrades - that is it. Role playing involves 'becoming' the character. In Ultima games for instance, you had to follow the role of the Avatar. If you started killing everyone in town or the world, your kharma would go down and people would stop helping and you'd not be able to finish the game. The system forced you to play a hero and yet you could do whatever you want.

The other thing is that in Japanese RPG's, you tend to go from one place to the next to the next. You become a god who never goes back to the same place because in the beginning, everything is NEWBIE. It's fun, but in terms of development and character interaction and game depth, Japanese RPG's fall flat. They do well for mood and story, though, but then again, how many times have they done the same story over and over and over and over again?

I love watching people play final fantasy, but I still don't understand how the three letters: R, P, and G, are even allowed to be pegged onto the genre.

I actually played FF before I played Ultima and was shocked at how deep a game could be. The story in Ultima 7 isn't that great - it's typical badguy stuff. But you start out as a hero from before sent back to help the world. There is soooooo much history in Ultima and you get wrapped up in your role, no so much in the seen-it-before storyline.

I am also a semi-avid role player (as in table top role playing) and as such, find it funny to go back to Japanese style role playing games. Fun for kicks, yes, but role playing: NO, not at all.

I think that is why TMA'ers have left me out in the cold when it comes to reviewing titles such as Zenonia and its crew.

[chi kitory]

Oh i learned something good in this one. thanks for the understanding.
Would Call of Cthulhu be considered an RPG game to you then?

[NineSwords]

Oh i learned something good in this one. thanks for the understanding.
Would Call of Cthulhu be considered an RPG game to you then?

If you think of the 2005 xbox game, then no. It was a survival horror game. If you think of the pen and paper RPG game build upon the Cthulhu universe then, yes.

[shigzeo]

Chi - we RPG'ers are a mad bunch. Some are casual and love games like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, but some are hardcore, believing that you can only enjoy RPG's for various computer systems if they emulate the pen and paper (guilty) simply because they offer depth and feel. On the other hand, I do enjoy games like Zenonia and Final Fantasy and SOM for sheer action/fun - but they aren't anything even related to role playing.

Again, even the best computer RPG's don't give you the real experience because they are so limited. You can't actually 'role play' the way you would if you were at a pen and paper session with red bull and crisps - you have NO control over your speech (which should be in character), your real actions, your way of thinking, or anything.

But some, like Ultima and Fallout, do strive to bring real role playing to the I's and O's that clunk around in your PC.